NTSB CAROL · Event
Event WPR24LA085
Registry · N377YG
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
EVEKTOR-AEROTECHNIK A S HARMONY LSA
Year of manufacture
2020 · 4 years old at event
Engine
ROTAX 912 IS (100 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20210225
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A44FF9
Registrant of record
ROTOR NOTIONS INC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Factual narrative
On February 11, 2024, about 1035 Pacific standard time, an Evektor-Aerotechnik Harmony LSA, N377YG, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Santa Ana, California. The flight instructor sustained serious injuries and the student pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. According to a flight instructor that witnessed the accident, a transport category airplane had touched down on runway 20R at the John Wayne/Orange County Airport (SNA), Santa Ana, California, about 30 seconds before the accident airplane descended over airport property just north of runway 20L. The witness stated that as the airplane was about 50 ft above ground level (agl) it appeared to be landing on runway 20L, when it entered an aggressive right roll and descended rapidly into terrain. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuselage, both wings, and the empennage were substantially damaged. About 14 minutes after the accident, recorded weather conditions at SNA showed that the wind was calm. Preliminary review of recorded air traffic control communications revealed that the tower controller issued the pilots of the accident airplane a caution about wake turbulence from the transport category airplane, which was acknowledged by the student pilot. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Instructor/check pilot
- — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Turbulence-Wake turbulence-Effect on equipment
- — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Incorrect use/operation
- — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Instructor/check pilot
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2024_WPR24LA085.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (wake turbulence, turbulence). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Aircraft wake turbulence minimization by aerodynamic means
The paper reviews NASA's efforts on wake vortex turbulence minimization by aerodynamic design or retrofit modifications to large transport aircraft.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Wake Turbulence Mitigation for Arrivals (WTMA)
The preliminary Wake Turbulence Mitigation for Arrivals (WTMA) concept of operations is described in this paper. The WTMA concept provides further detail to work initiated by the Wake Vortex Avoidance…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Aircraft wake turbulence avoidance
Aircraft wake turbulence /trailing vortex systems/ avoidance during flight, describing procedures for pilots and tower operators
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Aircraft wake turbulence progress and plans
Aircraft wake turbulence and trailing vortices, investigating physical characteristics, hazard potential and avoidance techniques
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2023 · SKYbrary article
Wake Vortex Turbulence — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary wake vortex turbulence comprehensive article — generation mechanics, dissipation factors, separation standards (ICAO LIGHT/MEDIUM/HEAVY/SUPER + recategorisation RECAT-EU).
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR)
An Examination of Aviation Accidents Associated with Turbulence, Wind Shear and Thunderstorm
The focal point of the study reported here was the definition and examination of turbulence, wind shear and thunderstorm in relation to aviation accidents.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗